Southern Company (The) $SO Shares Sold by JT Stratford LLC

JT Stratford LLC lessened its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Investors Research Corp raised its position in Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southern during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Southern in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP raised its holdings in Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $94.1710 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $96.44. The firm has a market cap of $103.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.34.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.09%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on SO shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp cut Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Southern in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.29.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.